Popular

Making a difference: Bus captain stops to help elderly woman

We profile six everyday heroes who have made a difference in the lives of strangers. Their heartwarming deeds are celebrated in the ongoing Good Man Good Deeds Good Rice campaign, a collaboration between Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao and Tong Seng Produce, which will donate 500kg of its SongHe rice and 60 litres of canola oil each to charities of their choice.

He added: "She was pushing a trolley of groceries. I believe she was returning from the market.

"She fell in the middle of the road, so big vehicles might not be able to see her."

Mr Hooi said he was worried about making passengers on the bus wait, so he rushed back after helping the woman. The whole encounter took a few minutes.

He said: "The elderly women thanked me in Hokkien. That already made me very happy. I didn't think a passenger would write in to the company to compliment me."

That passenger was finance manager Tham Chee Hao, 32.

Mr Tham said: "Honestly, I was annoyed at first.

"I had gone to the gym and just wanted to get home fast but the bus wasn't moving. Then I saw the bus captain had stopped to help an old woman and get her to safety. My annoyance was gone instantly. I was really touched."

He noted the bus' licence plate number and immediately wrote an e-mail to SBS Transit, praising Mr Hooi's actions.

Mr Hooi said that this is the first time he has been recognised for a good deed in his 11 years as a bus captain.

He said: "I don't ask for people's gratitude or repayment because I believe that if I help someone's mother today, when my mother needs help, others will do the same for her."